


Trust

by exclamation



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Character death aftermath, Donovan's death, Gen, Stilinski Family Feels, short and painful, spoilers for episode s05e05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 00:16:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4585692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exclamation/pseuds/exclamation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You never believe me." </p><p>When the sheriff finds out what happened with Donovan, he wants to know why Stiles didn't tell him. The truth is, Stiles didn't know if his father would believe him, because he's never believed him before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust

**Author's Note:**

> In my current work in progress fic, the sheriff has a habit of not always listening to or trusting Stiles. Some of the comments on that got me thinking more about the canon relationship between Stiles and his father, in particular with what's going on in the show right now and the fact that Stiles is hiding such a big secret. The following short piece was the result.

Stiles finally stopped sobbing as his dad shushed him, arms round him, rocking him back and forth like he was a child. Stiles wished he could slip back into that time, the time when the world made sense and his dad was a hero who stopped bad guys and nothing was at all complicated. Now he sat on his bed, his dad holding him close, staring down at hands that had been covered in blood. 

It was only later, when his dad was bringing him a drink of water, to counter the loss of what felt like an ocean of salty tears, that his dad asked the question that must have been bothering him for a while, “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I couldn’t,” Stiles said. There weren’t words to describe the fear he’d felt, the way he’d pictured the look of disgust on his dad’s face. He’d imagined the cold grip of handcuffs on his wrists as his own father took him in for murder. He’d imagined coldness and anger and, worse, disappointment. He’d seen it all running like a movie inside his head every time he’d even considered coming clean. 

“I could have helped,” his dad said. 

“You could have hated me.” 

“I would never hate you. Besides, it was self-defence.” 

Stiles looked down at his hands, at the clean skin. Not a mark of blood left on them but he could feel it still. 

“I didn’t know if you’d believe me about that.” 

“Of course I would believe you,” his dad said. 

Stiles started laughing, his shoulders shaking with something that was barely removed from sobs, a step away from hysterical. His dad was at his side again, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. He was close enough to hear even though Stiles whispered. 

“You never believe me,” Stiles said. 

“What?” 

Stiles swallowed. There was a lump in his throat threatening more tears. 

“You never believe me,” Stiles said, louder this time. “When I tried to tell you about Matt, you believed Scott before you believed me. When I tried to tell you about the supernatural, you wouldn’t listen. You told Scott’s dad that you stopped believing anything I said when I learned to talk. Even when I tried to tell you that I might be interested in guys, you dismissed it with a comment about my clothes.” The tears were there again, pricking at his eyes. “You never believed me.” 

The arm around him pulled him closer, the fingers tight around his arm. They were squeezing, not quite painful but almost, holding him like Stiles was slipping away. 

“I’m sorry,” his dad said. Then, “I love you.” 

That reassurance wasn’t enough, wasn’t what Stiles needed right now. Love had never been in question. Stiles had always known his dad loved him. It was trust that had always been missing. Just once, Stiles wished his dad would look at him, not Scott or someone else, and say, “I trust you.”


End file.
